Industry insights - Sport and leisure
With high levels of investment planned by government and employers, mainly in response to the successful London Olympics bid for 2012, there are more graduate career opportunities in the sport and leisure industry than ever before.
The introduction of the Smoking Ban Law in 2006-2007 has had a big impact on the casino and bingo industry. While many bingo clubs have suffered from falling revenue, there has been a big increase in the number of players visiting online bingo sites and as a result many new job opportunities now exist in the online gaming industry (Mintel report, 2009).
There is a growing awareness and understanding of health and fitness activities in the UK. More people than ever are actively taking part in sport and leisure as a hobby and this is also fuelling a growth in the number of available jobs.
The main areas of work are:
Health and fitness
Sport and recreation
Sport and recreation
Betting and gambling
Health and fitness
Opportunities for graduates exist throughout the UK with a greater concentration insouth-east England. There are also significant opportunities in the North West and Scotland. Wales and Northern Ireland have the lowest numbers of employees. With the increase in large, multinational health clubs and betting and gaming employers, worldwide positions may be possible. See opportunities abroad.
The following profiles are examples of key jobs that exist in the sport and leisure sector. To find the job roles that best match your skills and interests, login to what jobs would suit me?
For even more career ideas, take a look at types of jobs.
Check the following resources for vacancies:
The majority of positions within the sector are non-graduate. Graduate schemes are not very common but do exist with some of the larger national and multinational chains. They are usually in sales, duty management, IT, finance and marketing.
Jobs are advertised in terms of business need, so tend to be all year round.
Your university may have details of alumni working in this sector - try to use these contacts for inside information on future job vacancies.
Target your applications to the position you are applying for, providing evidence of the skills and qualities the employer seeks.
Find out more about job application advice.
Essential skills include:
Academic qualifications are not usually required for the majority of positions and responsibility usually increases with experience. A degree is essential, however, for the small number of graduate schemes and for teaching, lecturing and sport science-related vacancies. Increasingly, local councils are asking for degree level qualifications for work in sports development.
Structured schemes are rare, although there are a large number of voluntary, part-time and seasonal opportunities that exist with local authority health and sport centres. Contact your university sports centre as a starting point. Coaching qualifications may be very helpful in gaining work experience in sports and fitness. Consider joining a vacation summer school camp to gain experience if you have sport coaching qualifications.
If you can demonstrate good customer service skills, the majority of gaming, betting and theme parks will offer entry-level positions, such as croupier, and will train you on the job.
Contact employers direct with a CV demonstrating good customer service skills. Niche areas such as sport science and sport psychology require a proactive approach as vacancies are unlikely to be advertised.
Most positions do not require postgraduate study. A Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma in Management (Chartered Management Institute (CMI) ) can be useful for trainee manager roles, although many employers tend to fund employees to do this. Specialised roles such as biomechanist and sport performance analyst require an MSc in a relevant subject.
Further study tends to be supported once you are employed in the sector. Details of Sport UK courses can be found on the BASES website. It is usual within local authority sport and health clubs to study for the Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (IMSPA) certificates and diplomas. Accreditation from professional bodies is more common with staff in senior positions. MBA study may be useful for senior manager positions.
In most areas, there is no set path for career development.
Local authorities are the main providers of basic sport and recreation for the local community and in England they manage over 1,500 indoor sports centres. See Local Government Jobs for vacancies in England and Wales and Local Government Jobs ,for Scotland.
Major employers in health and fitness clubs include:
There are opportunities for graduates from any discipline for trainee and general manager positions in the betting and gambling industry. Large employers include:
Merlin Entertainment, incorporating the Tussauds Group, is the world’s second largest leisure group with 51 indoor/outdoor themed centres employing 13,000 staff. It operates in the UK, Europe and USA and they offer a graduate training scheme.
The five sport councils of the UK are:
Each council receives grant-in-aid from the government, distributes lottery sports funds and is responsible for the sports development of their respective region. The councils are usually staffed in small numbers by research, administrative and technical personnel.
SMEs are organisations with less than 250 employees and an annual turnover of no more than £26million. Working for a smaller company can be rewarding because you are more likely to forge a path for yourself within the company, although opportunities to try other departments may be limited.
SMEs are unlikely to use the testing and assessment techniques of larger companies, or follow lengthy recruitment procedures. SMEs are more likely to advertise their vacancies through the local press, university careers service bulletins, local graduate vacancy listings, jobcentres, and word of mouth, rather than rely on their reputation and a presence at graduate recruitment fairs.
Your university careers service should have listings of jobs with small firms. See also the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Freelance work, although not common, is possible, particularly in personal training and sport performance and psychology.
Find out more about self-employment.
Sport and leisure is a global business requiring skilled personnel. Overseas opportunities are available for lifeguards, recreation managers, fitness instructors, studio group instructors, personal trainers, group exercise coordinators, sales/leisure managers and PR and marketing managers.
The betting, gaming and theme park industries mainly have positions in trading, developing online games, marketing, finance, customer services management, duty and general management, HR and for bilingual internet operators and croupiers.
The norm for those on graduate schemes with multinational employers is to complete the scheme in the UK before being temporarily seconded abroad. Permanent relocation is rare but may be possible on request.
Recognised qualifications and work experience are generally transferable across European Union (EU) countries. Countries outside the EU, in particular the USA, may require qualified individuals to pass an additional federal state examination for certain occupations. Physiotherapists, for example, may be able to obtain temporary employment via the US Certificate for Healthcare Workers.
In 2006, the registers of exercise professionals of the UK and Europe, New Zealand and Australia (Fitness Australia) signed the International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals (ICREPS), agreeing to work together to provide an international passport for fitness professionals in other countries.
The International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals (ICREPS) also has mutual qualification recognition with North and South America.
A good knowledge of foreign languages is often necessary when searching for jobs abroad, particularly in Europe.
Working for one of the larger multi-national chains may offer more opportunities to work worldwide. This may be advertised as part of their graduate scheme or once you are already employed by the company. There are also opportunities working on cruise ships and in resorts that may offer the opportunity to travel.
With UK obesity levels predicted to rise in the future, there is likely to be an increase in GP exercise referrals to tackle this problem. Health and fitness clubs are likely to be provided with a ready-made customer base for the future.
By the year 2010, the number of people over 55 will have increased. As the proportion and number of ‘time-rich and cash-rich’ customers rises, the industry will need to capitalise on the opportunities this will provide.
The UK government, through Sport England and other regional bodies, is investing money into schools, community sports, elite sports, coaching provision and training for PE teachers. It is anticipated that job opportunities will increase in sport development and coaching.
Hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will have far-reaching effects on community regeneration, with a predicted 70,000 new jobs (including voluntary positions) and £17billion investment in sports and facilities (International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission, 2005 - most recent statistics available).
Initiatives such as Fit for the Future aim to reduce the number of overweight people in the future by encouraging them to join a health and fitness club. Companies investing in promoting exercise and fitness are likely to get a return in reduced absenteeism, as well as increased productivity and staff morale.
The Fitness Industry Association (FIA) continues to lobby for tax concessions for individuals’ spending on health clubs. They argue that healthier lifestyles reduce obesity and overweight-related treatments for The National Health Service (NHS).
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